Smiling Tiger

Not long after Tao Yanchen finished speaking.

Quite a few people gradually emerged from the village behind him. Besides soldiers clad in Black Flood Dragon Army uniforms, there were also more than a dozen martial artists dressed in all manner of fashions.

At a glance.

There were actually over a hundred of them.

The entire group stood behind Tao Yanchen, their expressions indifferent as they looked at the escort agency's party like they were looking at a stray dog by the roadside.

Black Flood Dragon Army!

Upon hearing those words, Wei Yu's face turned frighteningly pale. Some of the runners and apprentices had no idea what it meant, but several others even held their breath, immense pressure weighing upon their hearts like a thousand-pound burden.

Even though, at this moment.

That Inner Qi Realm expert had already withdrawn the [pressure] he had released earlier.

Jiang Jingnian naturally had never heard the name Black Flood Dragon Army, but one look at Escort Master Wei Yu's expression told him plenty.

But that was not what concerned him.

Instead, he silently estimated the number of people around them. Counting these soldiers and those martial artists, there were at least a hundred and fifty or sixty people.

The commotion caused by over a hundred people wouldn't be small.

Why hadn't we heard any other sounds before this? Could it be that some sort of disorienting smoke or something else had been scattered nearby?

And these soldiers have already sealed off the area, so why were there no guards on the road leading into the village? Could it be... they deliberately let us in?

The more Jiang Jingnian examined the details, the darker the shadow in his eyes grew.

Escort Master Wei Yu beside him did not think so much—nor did he have time to. Panic had long filled his heart. He merely stepped forward with a flattering smile. "Young Master Tao, and all you military gentlemen, our escort carts merely happened to pass through here. Could we perhaps be allowed to leave? After all..."

The pressure brought by these hundred-plus Black Flood Dragon Army soldiers was simply too immense.

With so many martial artists holding the line as well, if any conflict broke out, they would not even last ten breaths before being beaten into sieves.

"Ah!"

Before Wei Yu could finish, Tao Yanchen interrupted him. "Brother Escort Master, there's no need to be in such a hurry. Out here in the wilds, you have nowhere to stay. It's already late, and if you encounter that Demon Wraith on the road, I'm afraid misfortune may befall you!"

As he spoke, a kindly smile remained on his lips. He appeared refined and easygoing, like an approachable young nobleman.

The other party clearly did not want to let them leave.

But what did he intend to do by keeping this group of martial artists escorting goods?

If they had not been surrounded by people pointing guns at them, Wei Yu might actually have believed those seemingly concerned words.

"Th-this..."

His lips trembled for a few moments, and for a time, he did not know how to respond.

"Oh, right. What are you transporting? It looks like there are quite a few large crates."

Tao Yanchen looked at the escort master before him, who had lowered his head and fallen speechless, the amusement in his eyes deepening. "To tell you the truth, I've wanted to join your line of work since I was little—escorting goods everywhere, traveling north and south. You must have seen the world's magnificent rivers and mountains."

"...We wouldn't dare. Our escort agency only transports goods within two or three nearby provinces."

Wei Yu kept his head lowered as he answered truthfully. "As for the goods on our carts, they are a shipment of rosewood furniture, to be delivered to Ever-New Trading Company in Cloud Harmony City to the south."

"Ever-New Trading Company... I think I've heard of it."

Tao Yanchen revealed a thoughtful expression.

Butler Wei promptly reminded him from the side, "Sixth Young Master, Ever-New Trading Company is owned by the Qian Household. They also have a branch in Peace City. At the banquet at Huifeng Grand Hotel last time, Young Master met the Qian Household's third young miss, who had just returned from studying overseas."

"Oh, oh, oh! So these are goods from that little Miss Qian's family. Then they must be good stuff!"

The smile on Tao Yanchen's face deepened. "Brother Escort Master, when one sees good things, one should get a share. How about this... give me half, okay?"

Then he clasped his hands together and looked at the somewhat dazed Escort Master Wei, his voice exceptionally light. "Please~ Please, please~"

That pure, innocent expression made him look just like a child begging an elder for candy.

"Then..."

Gritting his teeth, Wei Yu was just about to speak.

But an apprentice beside him said anxiously, "Escort Master Wei, this shipment is far too valuable. Even if the escort agency bears most of the compensation, we wouldn't be able to afford the remaining part!"

The escort agency had its rules.

If escorted goods were lost.

Naturally, compensation for the goods had to be paid.

Of that compensation, the escort agency would bear eighty or ninety percent, while the remaining ten or twenty percent would be borne by the escort team. If the entire escort team died in battle, then the escort agency could only shoulder all the losses.

It was a young apprentice with a pockmarked face, only seventeen or eighteen years old, a newcomer who had joined in the same batch as Jiang Jingnian.

Who would have thought that on his first escort mission, he would encounter such an unexpected situation?

"Very expensive?"

Tao Yanchen tilted his head, brushed past Wei Yu, and then walked over to the pockmarked apprentice. He lowered his head with a kindly expression, as though humbly seeking instruction. "How expensive?"

The pockmarked apprentice was somewhat panicked when he saw the handsome young man approach.

Yet seeing the other man's warm, genial smile, he pondered for a moment before cautiously explaining, "Sir, a single rosewood chair inside costs sixty or seventy silver dollars. In any one of these crates, there are..."

Crack—

Before the pockmarked apprentice could finish speaking.

A pitchfork was driven straight into his face, instantly piercing his eyeball. The whole man let out a muffled groan.

This was a tool villagers used to gather and carry hay, and it had been used for many years. Its tines were not sharp, so even when thrust into someone's face, it could not kill them immediately.

"Urgh..."

In his daze, the apprentice was seized by unbearable agony. As a martial artist facing a life-or-death crisis, he no longer had the luxury of considering anything else. His body instinctively tried to resist.

However.

"Hm?"

Butler Wei merely focused his gaze in that direction. The [pressure] of an Inner Qi Realm expert spread forth, bearing down on the apprentice like a massive boulder.

The pockmarked apprentice trembled from head to toe, utterly unable to withstand that invisible oppression. His knees buckled, and he fell directly to the ground.

Then the handsome young man pressed downward along the pitchfork, driving it deep into the other's face before suddenly wrenching it back out.

He stabbed him several times in succession.

The pockmarked apprentice's face had already become unrecognizable, blood pouring forth. The skin on both cheeks had split open, exposing his gums. He was taking more breaths out than in.

The entire process.

Had taken only a few breaths.

Wei Yu and Jiang Jingnian naturally reacted at once, but neither made a sound, because Butler Wei had fixed his gaze upon them even before the handsome young man began his assault.

At the slightest unusual movement.

This Inner Qi Realm expert would unleash thunderous measures upon them.

The escort agency's runners were better off. They had seen life and death before, and at this sight, they merely turned pale as paper, not daring to make a sound.

As for those apprentices, seeing their companion, who had been speaking one moment ago, become like this the next, they were all gripped by terror and shock, nearly unable to control themselves.